


Exclusive

by paper_back_writer



Series: Comeback [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, BAMF Stiles, M/M, Musicians, No Smut, POV Outsider on Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Past Drug Use, Protective Derek, Protective Lydia, Quick and Dirty, Sex Drugs and Rock and Roll, Tattooed Stiles Stilinski, questionable writing style
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-26 20:37:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15008963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paper_back_writer/pseuds/paper_back_writer
Summary: After a meteoric rise to fame, touring with one of the world's greatest supergroups, crashing out of the rock scene and disappearing for three years, Stiles Stilinski is back, with his long-time friend, Derek Hale, and'Count to Five', an atmospheric and starkly intimate album that's proving Stiles is still a force to be reckoned with in the alt-rock scene. While other interviewers have been turned away in their droves, our intrepid reporter was lucky enough to spend a day with the man and his music...and plenty of surprises.





	Exclusive

**Author's Note:**

> I went to see a band last week (A Perfect Circle...omfg it was so good) And after the support left the stage, I got glomped in the face by a plot bunny that held on like a facehugger. So while I was away yesterday, I wrote this, just to get it out of my head.  
> I have skimmed precisely three NME interviews to get an idea of the style and did my best to write it like that. However, I don't know much about talking about music, or what genres are or anything...I did my best.
> 
>  
> 
> _This work is intended for the private enjoyment of the reader. I do not give permission to this work being read aloud and/or shared with the press, or anyone working on said production of Teen Wolf, including but not limited to cast, crew, writers, or producers. I also do not give permission share this work on third-party websites such as Goodreads, which I believe is a resource intended for published works outside of fandom. I only own what I own and don't claim to own anything that belongs to Teen Wolf or the copyright holders of anything mentioned in this original story. – Partly pilfered from BleepoBleep_

**When you’ve been hanging around the music business as long as I have, you don’t really expect to be surprised much anymore. But from the moment I opened an email from a vaguely familiar name that had an invite to listen to a couple of tracks from an artist I’d never heard of, to seeing Stiles Stilinski stumble, laughing, into the lounge of producer, Chris Argent’s studio, I felt like the man hadn’t stopped surprising me for weeks.**

Stiles looks well; his hitherto trademark lanky limbs, shorn head and bright graphic tees replaced with simple dark jeans, tousled hair and a plain black teeshirt that shows off his more mature, muscled physique and densely tattooed arms. He looks like he’s grown up quite a bit since the last time I’d seen him, shortly before his implosion and abrupt exit mid-tour after the _Pack of Wolves_ second album had hit.

In fact, the only thing that hasn’t changed was that Derek Hale, PoW’s former drummer, was right behind him, looking no different in his familiar black Henley and black jeans as he holds the door open for his bandmate. They’re both carrying large take-out cups from the coffee shop around the corner and jostle companionably like two people who know each other inside and out. Three years prior, when Stiles had left the band slated to be the next big thing, Hale had quit with him. And until eight weeks ago, no-one really had any idea where the two of them had disappeared to.

To my surprise, Stiles smiles and greets me enthusiastically like an old friend. It seems a little redundant when I remind him that I’d interviewed him years before when PoW first started out. “Of course, man. Why else do think I agreed to do this?” he laughs and I can’t help thinking how much he’s changed.

Hale only shakes my hand and nods but I know it’s a damn sight more forthcoming than I had expected him to be. His reputation for being the standoffish ‘quiet one’ can’t be oversold—several violent run-ins with paparazzi and overzealous fans notwithstanding—although it was interesting to see just how much more relaxed he was than in previous interviews. It was only then I realize that the main difference in Stiles is the absence of the constant twitching and fidgeting that he’d never seemed to be wholly in control of.

Hale settles down on one of the luxurious couches, letting his arm trail along the back while Stiles perches at the other end chatting to me for a while about the studio setup and what it was like to be back recording. I ask him what it was like working with Chris Argent, who’s produced some of the best in the business, and he rolls his eyes.

“Man, the guy is a hardass, but I need it y’know? He’s got this work ethic and perfectionism that I can relate to but he knows when to turn it off too which is something I’ve always struggled with. I can be all or nothing and that’s bad for everyone in the long run.”

It was easy to see that all or nothing streak in him back in the beginning. Stiles and his childhood friend, Scott McCall, founded _Pack of Wolves_ right out of high school. Their mix of heavy guitar and soulful lyrics coupled with McCall’s distinctive vocal sound soon had people paying attention and within a short space of time, they were filling venues with more than just teenage groupies.

A reputation for high energy sets helped. McCall was a natural frontman, with an edgy voice and charisma by the bucketload. Stiles provided the energy on guitar, with one reviewer describing him as bouncing around the stage like a rubber ball without missing a note on his guitar or as the second vocalist. Kira Yukimura on keyboards managed to keep the pace from her static position—hardly a fading flower alongside the two key players—as did Alison Argent on bass with her trademark pogo moves and long dark hair.

“And Derek just had to take his shirt off and nobody paid attention to his shitty drumming or what the rest of us were playing,” Stiles laughs but Hale just shrugs and smiles like he’d heard it all before. The shirtlessness might have been true but Hale’s drumming style and perfect timing grounded their music in a way that no-one could ever pretend was ‘shitty’.

“It was crazy back then. We didn’t give a crap about anything but playing,” Stiles says, rubbing at his brow. He looks embarrassed like he’s talking about a different person and by all accounts he was. “All me and Scotty ever set out to do was goof off for a while before college so we just kept going with the flow. By the time we realized we’d been swept away by it, we were in too deep to come up with a plan. We'd play a gig in one place, I’d catch a few hours sleep in the van to the next venue, write new material until it was time to set up, rinse and repeat. Even time to rehearse was a luxury.”

From the outside, it didn’t seem like their rise toward success was much of a problem when legendary producer, Alan Deaton signed the band on the strength of the three EPs they had recorded independently. And once they started working on their first album, all seemed well from the outside. But the way that Stiles tells it, he was already struggling.

“Winging it was fun up until that point but then I started to really feel the pressure. I really loved the music, loved writing, but I felt like none of us knew what we were doing technically, as musicians. Scotty didn’t seem to care about that at all. He figured that it worked out okay for the Sex Pistols so why not us? Christ, when we started I felt like I could barely play more than Stairway to Heaven on the guitar. And Derek only started drumming like a month before our first gig. It was crazy to suddenly have all these people depending on us to deliver, with actual money flying around the place.”

But despite all Stiles’ insecurities, their debut album, _Rogue_ , charted top forty on both sides of the Atlantic in the first month. Managing to harness the raw edge that had become the signature sound of their live performances with the exemplary production values only adding to it, the tracks showed no sign of the inexperience that worried Stiles. The melodies and hard rock roots created a stylistic journey that rivaled more established songwriters at the time. It was certainly enough to get the attention of _Blind Man_ frontman, Deucalion.

When I ask about what seemed to most to be a dream come true—becoming the support act for _FiveA_ , the Alt-Rock supergroup on their global tour promoting their first album in ten years—I’m surprised to see the mixed feelings on both their faces. I’m even more surprised when it’s Hale that answers.

“I don’t think any of us were expecting that call. I thought it was one of Stiles’ stupid pranks at first but then even he wouldn’t have come up with something as unrealistic as that.” Stiles huffs out a laugh but still doesn’t look up from his empty coffee cup. Hale says, “We were so honored and totally blown away, it was hard to know what to do or say.”

When I ask what they did to celebrate, Stiles laughs. “Well, personally, I don’t remember a thing but I have it on good authority that I drank a whole bottle of whiskey and puked in Derek’s lap.” To which Derek mutters, “Wasn’t the first time,” before finishing his coffee and adding, “or the last.”

The tour itself was grueling by all accounts, especially for an relatively inexperienced band. A sell-out at every venue with more dates at progressively larger venues added as they traveled, it was expected that the young musicians would take a break before starting work again. But back in the states after the European and Asian legs of the tour had finished, they headed right back into the studio to record their second album.

“I think Deaton wanted to keep the momentum we’d gained with _FiveA_ and, of course, Scotty had all his focus on getting more of what we’d experienced on tour. It was like we’d still been just having fun until then. When he started to take things seriously, we lost that.”

Derek nods to himself and chips in, “He always loved the crowd. Hearing the way that the fans went insane for Duke and the others made him want they had. Or want it more.”

It’s clear Stiles wants to disagree but he doesn’t or at least can’t find a way to. He’s made it clear on numerous occasions that despite the tensions between him and McCall, they’ve reconciled. “Scotty will always be my brother. Sometimes it’s family that hurt us the worst, but for us, we can’t stay mad with each other forever.”

It had been evident that the world tour had taken a toll on him particularly. Physically, the pressure to perform at the limit of his energy night after night had him drastically losing weight to the point where fans were concerned for his health. But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

“I wasn’t taking care of myself at all,” Stiles admits. “I was keeping the same schedule as when we’d first been on the road, writing when I wasn’t playing and barely sleeping. It meant we could step straight into the studio once we got home but also I picked up some pretty bad habits to keep myself going.” It doesn’t escape my notice that Hale lets his hand drop to Stiles’ shoulder as he’s talking. It’s clearly a tough thing to speak about after all this time. Stiles says, “I just really didn’t want to let anybody down. I know everyone thinks I lost it when we were promoting _Back from the Dead_ but really the rot set in before we even started recording.”

I have a vivid memory of being at a classic after-show party with all the members of the band. It was all very rock and roll—with plenty of wine and women after the song—except for Stiles, who sat quietly in one corner with the sweat from the performance still wet on his skin, his guitar on his lap, frantically scribbling lyrics and notes into a dog-eared book, rebuffing all Hale’s attempts to get him to stop and join the party. And I’m hit by a sudden wave of guilt, much like the myriad of other people who feel in hindsight that they could have stepped in to stop his self-destruction at several points.

It’s no secret that Stiles substance abuse problem was the reason he left PoW in such dramatic circumstances. It became clear later that he’d started out occasionally abusing his prescription medicine for his ADHD during high school, progressing first to alcohol and then stronger stuff. I tell him we can skip over that part of his life but to my surprise, he cracks a joke despite looking nervous.

“No, that’s the good stuff, man. Might as well be a cautionary tale for the other idiots out there.” He looks nervously to Hale for reassurance but gets what Stiles once dubbed ‘The Hale Eyebrow™’ in reply. Stiles seems to take it as all the encouragement he needed.

“Me and Scotty always fought a little but it was over stupid stuff like key changes and falsetto and that bullshit. But on the _FiveA_ tour, I started messing up on stage because of the drugs and the sleep deprivation. Small shit that probably only he’d notice ‘cause he knew me so well. He’d call me out, I’d yell at him and just take more pills the next night. I know some people blamed Scotty for being a diva but what happened was all on me.” The situation didn’t improve any when they got back in the studio and by the time they were out on tour again, things came to a head.

Stiles doesn’t talk about it in detail but Hale tells me later that ‘what happened’ was an overdose bad enough for Stiles to be hospitalized, spending several days in intensive care and then six months in a rehab center back in California. “Rehab sucked,” Stiles says and he’s not joking. “But I’m grateful. Especially to Scotty and this guy.” Stiles reaches over to clap Hale on the shoulder and leaves his hand there for a while. “Without them, I wouldn’t have even made it to the 27 Club.” He looks over at Hale to jokingly ask, “Is there even a 23 club?” Hale’s expression doesn’t change but it’s clear it’s as hard for him to hear this as it is for Stiles to talk about it. “Ian Curtis,” Hale says quietly and Stiles jaw clenches. Even after three years, the pain of that period is clear to see. And not just from the danger to Stiles’ health.

Even with Stiles’ abrupt departure mid-tour, taking Hale with him, _Pack of Wolves_ didn’t even miss a performance. Stiles’ position was seamlessly filled by Isaac Lahey, formerly the guitarist with _Freezer_ , with newcomer, Liam Dunbar taking Hale’s spot behind the drum kit. To say that fans were less than happy would be an understatement, not only with the lineup change but also with the way it appeared to happened too soon and too smoothly.

“I know people think that Scotty had been scheming just waiting for an opportunity to replace me with Isaac but honestly, I can’t blame him for making sure the band was okay,” Stiles says. “I saw an upload of the first show they played together and I’m 100% sure they’d been rehearsing together for a while. And I was okay with that.”

Derek laughs lightly. “Is that why my phone ended up in pieces and there was a dent in the wall?” Stiles shrugs as he smiles at him over his shoulder, before adding reluctantly, “Okay, well, after the initial blind rage I was okay with it.”

Argent’s assistant arrives at that point with food and Lydia Martin, Stiles’ publicist/minder. He lovingly introduces her as one of his ‘slave drivers’ as he likes to call to them—the others being his father, Hale himself, and Hale’s sister/lawyer, Laura, who took over as Stiles’ agent once he’d left rehab. Between the four of them, they’ve created an almost impenetrable wall around Stiles that while may appear they’re overprotective—“It’s not forever,” Hale tells me, although Stiles rolls his eyes. “We’re gradually backing off the better he gets at handling the pressure.”— the bubble they keep him in seems to have helped him heal and given him the confidence and space to create.

Indeed, while McCall might have been the band leader of PoW, it was quickly plain to see that it was Stiles who had been the creative epicenter. With Stiles out of the picture, PoW’s third album was, to be generous, a flop, and they were dropped by their label even before they could announce a tour.

Lydia takes Stiles aside for a while, talking to him quietly but sternly for a few minutes. Stiles just nods and rewards her with a brotherly kiss for her efforts before she leaves. Hale watches them the entire time, and says quietly, “Lydia’s doing her best to keep the reviews from him, but he can’t help himself sometimes.” I wasn’t sure why she would be worried. Their new venture, _Spark_ had played a handful of small venues in the last month and the reception to the new sound—and the new Stiles—had been nothing but good.

I’d been at the show the night before at The Depot. The place was filled to capacity, as every other venue had been from what I can gather. News of Stiles’ return to the stage had been greeted with more enthusiasm than certainly he had expected. And he didn’t disappoint.

I was pleasantly surprised that the songs that Lydia had emailed to me the month before, which worked so well as a crafted studio tracks, translated to the stage as heavier, live versions (and as the gentler, stripped down version you can see on our website). Stiles’ melodic voice and mumbling delivery work with his signature sound that was so evidently his part in PoW’s success. As well as Hale on drums, they’ve been joined by Erica Reyes on guitar and Vernon Boyd on bass, both formerly of _Reject_ , who the pair met through Lahey while recording POW’s second album in L.A.. Stiles has taken over keyboard duties while on stage but he’s keen to point out that in the studio, that’s Hale’s domain.

“Derek is a great musician, I think he needs more credit for that,” Stiles says. “I might do most of the writing but Derek does a lot more than just provide the beat. In the studio, it’s usually just the two of us. And Erica and Boyd are just so easy to work with for the live shows. We had a lot of fun recording but it’s a blast being on stage with them.” It’s evident that it’s true but also Stiles seems sufficiently different from his PoW days that he also seems to have more focus.

There’s a seriousness to the music now. To say that all the youthful ‘goofing off’ that had guided his early work has evaporated would be to deny that Stiles is still at heart the fun-loving guy that he always was. But like his appearance, he seems to have grown up and grown into his music. The out-of-control, superficial shell has been stripped away, allowing his true talent to shine through. Even in his writing, there’s a simplicity to it, pure layers of sound building to make something rich and moving. There’s an introspection about the album, _Count To Five_ , that was missing before. With songs about love and loss and an air of hopefulness, he’s lost the self-consciousness that plagued him in the past.

“I blame the slave drivers,” Stiles laughs. “They don’t let me get too far into my head that I start to worry about the small stuff. As well as keeping me clean.” He points to the curated plate of food with his name on it. “They’ve got me on some vegan diet, counting macrobiotics and _no coffee_!” He playfully glares at Hale who just bites into his burrito, clearly immune at this point to his friend’s complaints. “But yeah, writing is going well and I’m having a good time, y’know?”

And I do know. I can practically feel it radiating from him.  


As we chat about future plans—“I really want to do more live dates but that’s down to the slave drivers. Plus, I don’t love the tour bus that much. I miss my bed these days”—and where the music might take him next—“Thematically, this last album is more about me healing and that whole process but the new stuff I’m working on with Chris and Derek right now has more of an edge to it. I don’t know if people will think it’s too political or what. I guess we’ll find out”—Stiles doesn’t stop smiling.

Where there was once an almost hysterical enthusiasm for music, now Stiles seems to have a deep hum of enjoyment for it that is almost tangible as he talks. It amps right up after we’ve eaten and head to the rehearsal room where he and Derek play a couple of tracks just for us.

I had intended to leave the interview there and just enjoy the performance but as they’re setting up, I can’t help notice the way that Stiles leans in to Hale and casually touches his hand. I tell him that I’m asking off the record if there’s more to their friendship than simply being bandmates. Stiles pauses, looking to Hale first, and on getting The Hale Eyebrow™ once again and a shy smile, Stiles says “Nah, man. On the record is okay. It’s probably about time everyone knew how gone I am on the guy.” When I ask how long they’ve been together, Stiles laughs. “Oh, from the beginning. Why do you think he learned to play the drums in the first place? There was no way he was going to let me join a band without him.”

He turns to Hale and says, “I guess we should start wearing our wedding rings now, huh? As long as my agent approves, of course,” Hale smiles and leans over to kiss him quickly on the lips before settling down to the piano like it’s the most natural thing in the world. 

When Stiles sees the surprise on my face he laughs again. “Seriously? You didn’t know? Who did you think I was writing all these love songs about?”

  
  


* * *

  
  
  
You can see the studio session that helped inspire this fic [here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaH8snpeb9c)

It might be hard to imagine that sweet voice as a rock god but omfg he knocks your socks off live. Believe me.

**Author's Note:**

> My original intention was to cut the interview with flashbacks to what really happened, but I don't really have much of a clear vision as to what happened before Stiles' meltdown. So I didn't do that—also I do have an actual book I'm supposed to be writing— but I think I will write 'the recovery years' at some point, from Stiles' overdose, through the rehab and Derek taking care of him, a nice hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, loads of smut thing....maybe. But not yet.  
> Also, sorry not sorry about the name of Isaac's band...it popped in my head and I couldn't let it go : )
> 
>  _Also_ , also, if you haven't seen Dylan's latest Youtube upload, you should go look at that now! Bless his sweet face ♥
> 
> Anyhoo.  
> Hoped you liked it as it is!
> 
> Leave a kudos if you read.  
> Leave a comment if you liked it.
> 
> This is unbeta'd so if you spot any errors, let me know in the comments and I'll tweak it ♥
> 
> Keep the fandom works in fandom, please.
> 
> Love your faces,  
> AJ xx


End file.
